


Kicking the Bucket: Senior Year Edition

by peanuthead



Category: My Chemical Romance
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - I'm Not Okay Video, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Humor, Kinda?, M/M, Pining, bob who, but worse ;), does it count as slowburn idk, frank has a random sister ok
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:00:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peanuthead/pseuds/peanuthead
Summary: “Hey.” Gerard grinned, shit-eating teeth and everything. “What’s up?”“I hate you.”“Love you too. Okay, so.” Gerard’s eyes shone. “Guess what tomorrow is.”Frank rolled his eyes. “Senio-”“SENIOR FUCKING YEAR!” Gerard shouted.AKA: The senior year bucket list has arisen.
Relationships: Frank Iero/Gerard Way
Comments: 15
Kudos: 16





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey everyone!! if all goes as planned this is gonna be a long one haha. this is my first venture into the mar fandom so please take it easy and leave feedback- i'd really appreciate it :)  
> welcome to my knock off im not okay au

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> disclaimer: this is a work of fiction about the characters these people display onstage/on camera- not about their actual personalities. i claim to know nothing about their real lives.

It was three AM. 

And someone was tapping on Frank’s fucking window. 

He pulled the covers tighter over his head, groaning loudly. Shut up, shut up, shut upppppp. Maybe if he pretended to be asleep for long enough, they’d go away. That’s what normal people did, right? People with adequate senses of personal space? 

“Frank!” the annoying intruder loudly whispered. “It’s Gerard. Are you asleep?” Fucking Gerard. 

“Not anymore,” Frank grumbled, tossing off the covers and pulling himself out of bed. He stumbled through the pitch-black room- what time was it? Sure enough, Gee’s face was gleaming through the window. Frank glared at him, pulling up the window (ew, effort) and hastily shielding his eyes from the bright moonlight (ew, light). 

“Hey.” Gerard grinned, shit-eating teeth and everything. “What’s up?” 

“I hate you.” 

“Love you too. Okay, so.” Gerard’s eyes shone. “Guess what tomorrow is.” 

Frank rolled his eyes. “Senio-” 

“SENIOR FUCKING YEAR!” Gerard shouted, jumping up. Frank shushed him loudly, laughing. He lowered his voice. “Senior. Fucking. Year. And that’s important, right? You know why that’s important. Because what did you and I make in fifth grade when Bobby kicked my Twinkie and I started crying like a shitty wind up doll? What did we make, Frank? This is an interactive experience, by the way.” 

“Uh…” 

“WRONG. See, this is why I’m the smart one.” 

Frank gave him the look, smirking. How many Red bulls had he had? “Spit it out, dipshit.” 

“We made… drumroll please-” Frank tapped the window quickly- “THE LIST.” Gerard looked at him eagerly. 

“Oh, uh,” Frank scratched his head awkwardly. “The list. Yeah.” 

Gerard stumbled back, clutching his chest in mock shock and smacking the back of his head into a nearby tree- thank God Frank’s house only had one floor. “Don’t tell me you don’t remember the list, Frankie.” 

“I do not remember the list.” 

“So, let’s set the scene. I’m weeping, snot dripping down my face, it’s fucking disgusting. You say to me, in your lovely, kind, way- ‘Gee, that Twinkie is you. You’re getting kicked all over the place every day, and you’re just rolling over and taking it. And that’s not okay, okay? You’ve got to fucking get out there, and fucking do stuff.’ And I go, ‘okay!’ In my little squeaky five year old voice-” 

“You weren’t five in fifth grade, you fucking moron.” 

“Shut up, I’m telling a story. And that night, we go to my house and lock ourselves in my room ‘cause Mikey’s marrying a unicorn in the living room and who the fuck wants to see that, and we make a bucket list. And we say that we’re gonna do everything on that list before we graduate from high school, and we locked it in my cabinet, and never forgot it.” 

“I forgot it,” Frank said, smirking. Gerard glared at him, before leaning forward and pushing him. Frank fell into his room, laughing loudly, and grabbed Gerard’s hand, pulling him inside forcefully. Gerard fell in with a squeak. 

“Oi! No fair!” Gee flicked him in the forehead, giggling. Frank looked at him in shock. 

“Did you just flick me?” 

“Maybe.” 

They both dissolved into laughter. 

Frank glanced at the digital clock on his nightstand, his eyes widening when he saw the time. “Oh shit, it’s four AM? I need to get up for school in an hour.” He stood up quickly, practically pushing Gerard out the window. “Get out, get out, get out. How the fuck do you even function on this little sleep? I’m gonna fall asleep in math tomorrow.” 

“Exactly. I’ll bring the list to school tomorrow, eh?” Gerard called, climbing out and starting to walk away, and Frank turned back to his bed, rubbing his forehead in exhaustion. Four hours before Gerard came… two hours after… six hours of sleep wouldn’t be that bad, right? God, Gerard was ridiculous. It was gonna kill them both someday- Gerard, probably through some insane fireworks accident, and Frank, for being so fucking addicted to him. 

“Oh- Frank!” Frank turned back to the window, smiling. Gee turned around and shot him a finger gun, and Frank could practically hear the wink in his voice as he skipped backwards toward the neighboring house. “Don’t forget about #10. Jamia Nestor, here you come!” 

The smile fell off Frank’s face. 

Oh, shit. 

That list. 

That fucking list with fucking number ten. He’d completely forgotten. How had he forgotten? It had completely consumed him back then, and it was going to completely consume him now. Frank collapsed in his bed, flopping significantly. 

Fifth grade. Mikey, Ray, Gerard, and him had sat under the bleachers every day for lunch like the losers that they were- well, they still did that now, but irrelevant- and every conversation came back to girls. And how Jamia Nestor was head over heels for Frank. 

She was, really. Even Frank knew that. But so did everyone else in the goddamn grade. 

Including Gerard. 

So, he fucking put it on the list. Number ten- go to prom with Jamia. God, that kid was an idiot. And Frank was an idiot for going along with it out of sheer desperation. Desperation because-  
Shit. Four thirty AM. Frank shoved his face in his pillow, groaning. This year was gonna be hell. 

~ 

“Hey, dipshit.” Frank reached over and ruffled his little sister’s hair. She yawned, her hair falling into her eyes. He moved it away, and she swatted at him. 

“Stoppit. It’s a style.” 

Frank snorted. Daisy glared at him. “It is.” 

“Being blind isn’t equivalent to being fashionable,” he retorted, reaching for the cereal box. Lucky Charms. 

“Uh, Frank?” He glanced up from pouring the cereal. “So, first year of middle school, right? Do you have any…” 

“Any…?” he prompted, shoving a large spoonful of marshmallows into his mouth. Ah, the lovely taste of artificial sugar. 

“Tips,” she said nervously. “I’m just really, like, freaked out, okay? And before you make fun of me-” he shut his mouth, grinning- “it’s not fucking funny. ‘Cause at least I don’t like you in sixth grade, with your triangle hair and your death metal band t-shirts. I just want to seem cool. Okay? Now give me some goddamn tips.” 

“First of all- Daisy, calm down,” he said, laughing. “It’s gonna be okay. And you’re cool. Don’t worry, they’re gonna love you. Just… uh…” he glanced at the clock, grabbing his bag. “Shit I gotta go. Just, uh… be yourself.” 

She scowled at him. “That’s terrible advice.” 

“And maybe lose the haircut,” he called back, opening the door and grinning back at her. She stuck out her tongue and flipped him off. Fuck, it was freezing. He shivered. God, why did he only wear three layers? 

“Oi, Frankie.” He felt a tap on his neck, and turned around, startled. Gee raised his hands up in surrender. “Shit, calmaté. Why so jumpy?” Gee slung an arm around Frank’s shoulders, adjusting his uniform tie. It was still crooked. Frank fidgeted, swatting at him. 

“The cold’s just getting to me, I guess,” Frank said. “It’s fucking freezing.” 

“It’s sixty degrees, you absolute snake.” 

“I don’t think you know how snakes work.” 

“That is probably true,” Gerard agreed. “But irrelevant. Now…” he slipped his arm off of Frank’s shoulders and into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper. Frank immediately felt the loss- ugh, cold. He shivered. Again. 

Gee shoved the paper into Frank’s face before pulling it back a little bit. He blinked quickly, blinded for a second. “Look! THE LIST.” 

Frank laughed. “I see the list. That thing’s, what, seven years old now? It should probably be getting its first My Little Pony collector’s doll about now.” 

Gerard giggled, as he did. Always. “Okay, okay. Number one on the list. Set up two teachers.”  
“What the fuck? Seriously? That was our idea of a good time as fifth graders?” Honestly, Frank knew that his elementary school self was a loser, but really? 

“Wait, wait, wait.” Gerard put up a placating hand. “Before you knock it, try it. I mean, you know that Ms. Diaz and Mr. Schumpeter are just dying to get it on.” He elbowed Frank, wiggling his eyebrows. Frank rolled his eyes, snatching the list. 

“If we’re doing this, Gee, then we’re doing this. We’re going all out. I’m talking school lore for years to come, a damn shrine dedicated to us in the locker room. We’re going down in fucking history, and it better be fucking HILARIOUS,” Frank shouted. Gerard whooped, jumping like the fucking lima bean he was. He stumbled off of the sidewalk, righting himself quickly. 

Maybe Frank needed a new swear word. 

“Okay, so,” Gerard said, calming down a bit. “Number five is my personal favorite, obviously, since I’m egocentric, but I’m piped as hell for number seven.” Frank glanced down at the list, and his eyes widened. What the fuck. 

“Uh… unicorn detox?” 

“You know how Mikey loves unicorns right? Like some weird little girl? I’ve been telling him since we were five- you know, fifth grade- that he needs to stop that, because it’s freaky. And he hasn’t, so. Detox. This is gonna be so fucking great.” Gerard’s eyes shone and Frank suppressed a chuckle. 

“Where is Mikey, anyway?” Frank asked. “I’m missing his lack of commentary.” 

Gerard poked him. “Shut up, he talks. He’s at interview or something like that. I think at the rec center downtown, for some music tutor bullshit. He was really excited about it, too. He better get it, he’s the most qualified out of this shithole town.” 

“Yeah, don’t worry. He’ll get it, if the interviewer has any common sense.” Frank smirked. “Oh, look- hell sweet hell.” 

Before them loomed the Institute of All Misery, or East Side High School. Gerard grabbed his arm, pulling him toward the front stairs. He let himself be dragged along, groaning. “Can we go home now?” 

“Nope,” Gerard said, smiling. “The list takes priority.” With that, he shoved the paper in his pocket- obviously, it didn’t take enough priority not to get crumpled. Gerard opened up the school door, bowing deeply. “Madame.” 

“Sir,” Frank responded dramatically, walking in. Gerard hopped in, swinging the door shut with a flourish. Wait- the atrium was empty. He peeked into the left and right hallways. “Uh, where is everyone?” 

Gerard frowned. “We’re not late. I made sure we’re not late- school starts at 8:15, we left at 7:55…” 

“Oh, shit.” Frank dug his phone hurriedly out of his backpack, typing in his passcode quickly. He pulled up the school schedule, shoving the screen in front of Gerard’s face and shaking it violently. “School starts at EIGHT.” 

“Oh, uh,” Gee laughed nervously. “That’s awkward.” Frank scrambled to get his phone back in his pocket, racking his brain. What was his first class? Second was math... third was physics… first was… first was… 

“You’ve got French now, right?” Gee reminded him. Frank nodded, relieved. Yeah, French. Wait, how did- 

“Okay, see you at lunch.” Gee jogged away. Frank waved half-heartedly, silently cursing his luck. World languages were on the other side of the school. Pulling the other strap of his bag over his shoulder, he started sprinting across the atrium. His feet pounded on the bricks- shit, he did not have the right shoes for this. Were any shoes right for running? His head was thumping- God, he was struggling here. Finally- finally- he reached the stairs, tripping over himself as he climbed them. Ten more… five more… he reached toward the door handle, throwing it open to a full classroom. 

With everyone looking at him. 

Great. 

“Thank you for joining us, Monsieur Iero.” Madame François or Pierre or whatever the frenchity fuck her name was glared at him from across the classroom, hand mid-white board scrawl. She coldly gestured for him to find a seat. He scoured the class for anyone he knew- wasn’t Ray taking French? Dammit. No one. 

“Monsieur, trouver une chaise, s’il vous plait. Maintenant,” Madame warned. Frank rolled his eyes, sliding into a seat next to some girl. Madame turned around and started scrawling some more illegible nonsense on the board. 

Frank pulled out his notebook, squinting at the white board. He nudged the girl next to him, leaning sideways a bit. “Does that say parfait or pleuvait?” 

“I’m gonna be completely honest and say I have no idea what the hell either of those words mean,” the girl whispered, lowering her voice conspiratorially. “So, if you’re looking for help, you might want to find a different seat.” 

Frank grinned at her. “I think she’d have an aneurysm if I moved again.” He turned to look at the girl, his eyes widening in shock. 

Oh, shit. 

It was Jamia Nestor. 

His luck really was terrible. 

“Oh, uh, Jamia,” Frank said, flustered. Was it hot in here? “I didn’t realize it was you. Since when do you take French?” He cursed himself silently- did he have to sound so aggressive? Once Gerard found out they were in French together… damn, this was going to be a mess. 

“It’s my first year in French, and I think there was some mix up in the system, ‘cause I don’t actually speak a single word, and this is French 4 Honors, but I’m not going to complain, since it’s an extra boost to my GPA.” she said, grinning crookedly. She nodded toward the window. “I saw you running over here. Not gonna lie, it was kinda painful to watch. Maybe work on the cardio?” 

“I would, but I really don’t want to,” Frank replied. Very honestly, he would rather die than voluntarily go on a run. He was playing this cool, right? The key was to just solidify a platonic friendship, make sure there was nothing for Gerard to work with. Maybe this could work out for the better. 

Jamia smiled at him. “I get it, not everyone can be as fit as me.” She flexed her very non-existent muscles, smirking. Frank laughed loudly, alerting the Devil. 

Madame Baguette turned around sharply, fixing them with a scowl. “Un autre temps, Monsieur Iero, et je vais donne-toi un detention. Tais-toi.” 

“Uh, oui, Madame. Desolé,” Frank said loudly. “Très desolé.” 

“Oui,” Jamia added. “Baguette.” Madame glared at her before returning to the lesson. 

“Oh, shit...” Frank muttered, serious. “Okay, okay, quiet… don’t upset the Mother Baguette.” He held the expression for a split second before they both dissolved into quiet laughter, shoulders shaking. 

~ 

“Let me this straight,” Ray said, dipping a French fry in ketchup. “You-” he pointed the fry at Gerard- “want to complete a bucket list you made in fifth grade…” Gerard nodded, opening his mouth to speak. “Wait, I’m not done. And you-” he directed the fry at Frank, who suddenly felt very singled out- “are going along with all of this. Even though half of the items would get us expelled and probably blackballed from every school within twenty miles.” 

Frank nodded. “Yeah, you could say that.” 

Ray shoved the fry into his mouth, and threw up his hands exasperatedly. “Why the hell would I want to do this?” 

“Because it’s our senior year,” Gerard exclaimed. “And I’ll be gone next year, all the way at SCAD, and you’ll be so, so sad, and poor Frankie here is going to fall into a depression-” 

“It’s true,” Frank chimed in. 

“-and do you really want me to go to college without having at least completed these measly little things? It’s only ten items. C’mon, Ray…” Gerard whined. “Frank, help me out here.” 

“C’mon, Ray,” Frank repeated, swiping Gee’s pudding. Gerard half-heartedly reached for it, giving up when Frank tore off the top and licked it, grinning. “For us.” 

Ray rolled his eyes. “I’m so the only sane one in this group.” 

“Pleaseeeee. I can bribe you if you want,” Gerard whispered loudly, leaning forward and licking his lips. 

“Gross,” Ray said, laughing and waving him away. “Fine, I’ll do it. Just don’t do that again. Please.” 

Gerard whooped and air-punched. God, that kid was such a nerd. Frank stuck a finger into his pudding, licking it and ignoring Ray’s disgusted face. He dug it in again, and Gee grabbed his finger, licking some pudding off nonchalantly before digging the list out of his pocket and rambling about number one. 

Fuck. Frank froze. Gerard did weird shit like that all the time. Hell, last month he’d stuck Frank’s finger in his mouth to “see if his tooth felt chipped”. Why was his heart beating so fast? Why did he keep thinking about- 

“Right, Frank?” Gerard asked, looking at him. 

“Uh, what? Sorry, zoned out there. Fucking mystery meat is already getting to me,” Frank said quickly, flustered. Ray shot him a suspicious glance. Gerard continued, oblivious. 

“I was thinking that if we can get Mr. Schumpeter and Ms. Diaz in the same elevator after school, and that elevator just happens to break between floors, and it just happens to get very, very hot in there, then that’s basically a fullproof way to get them to hook up.” 

Ray stared at him. “You’re kidding, right?” 

“Uh…” Gee looked uncertain. “Maybe?” 

“How about, instead of that completely legal plan, we just convince one of them that the other is interested?” Frank suggested. 

Ray nodded. “Yeah, that sounds better, but I’m still confused about why we’re trying-” 

“Genius, Frankie!” Gerard announced. “I knew there was a mastermind underneath that gorgeous face.” He patted Frank on the cheek lightly, then turned back toward the list, outlining the details of the plan. 

Frank tried his best to listen, ignoring the little skip in his heart. He should probably stop having so much sugar with his lunch- it was seriously affecting his blood sugar levels. 

~ 

Frank unlocked his front door, wiggling the key to get it in. Damn sticky door- he’d have to remember to get some more grease out of the garage soon. He walked in, threw his backpack into his open room and collapsed on the living room couch. Smushing his face into a pillow, he closed his eyes, pushing away all school- and Gerard- and list-related thoughts. Finally… relaxation... 

As if it sensed the moment of tranquility, his phone dinged. Frank groaned, digging it out of his pocket. 

4:05 pm Gee: come over  
4:05 Gee: mikeys home  
4:05 Gee: frankieeee 

Frank rolled his eyes. 

4:07 Frank: shut up im coming  
4:07 Frank: i am fully expecting chips to be waiting  
4:08 Gee: so many chips  
4:08 Gee: ive summoned the chip god just for you  
4:08 Gee: he says hi his name is jude  
4:09 Frank: tell him i want salt and vinegar  
4:09 Gee: he only has barbeque  
4:10 Frank: barb-arious. burn him 

Frank shoved his phone back in his pocket, knocking on the door. It opened immediately to an exasperated Mikey. 

“Hey,” Frank said. Mikey nodded silently, looking exhausted. “How’d the interview go?”

“Uh, pretty well, I think,” he replied, rubbing his forehead. His hair was a complete mess, and his glasses were pretty crooked. Frank noted he was wearing a unicorn t-shirt, too. In character, at least. He waved Frank in, gesturing vaguely toward the living room. Gerard was sprawled across the couch drinking a can of Red bull. He chugged the can, crumpled it, and tossed it behind him, pointing directly at Frank. 

“Frank,” Gerard announced. “We have an emergency.” 

Frank looked at him expectedly. 

“What? Oh.” Gerard pulled a giant bag of barbeque chips out from behind a pillow and chucked them at Frank. He caught them deftly, and collapsed in a nearby armchair. Frank shoved a preliminary handful into his mouth. 

“What?” he asked around the chips, gagging slightly. God, barbeque was disgusting. 

“MIKEY!” Mikey walked in, staring flatly at his older brother as he flopped into the other armchair. Gee prompted Mikey with an accusatory look. 

“I don’t want to do his list,” Mikey admitted to Frank. “I’m taking six AP’s, guys. Who has time to complete ten, honestly, ridiculous items on your list?” Gerard gasped and threw a pillow at his brother. Frank stifled a laugh as Mikey shielded himself, continuing his tirade underneath his protective arms. “Plus, you two have college applications coming up- you’re supposed to have bigger things on your mind.” Gerard gestured helplessly at Frank. 

“Since when do you care so much about school? Last year, you and Ray scarred that substitute teacher- what was her name?” 

“Ms. Peterson,” Gerard supplied. 

“Yeah, Ms. Peterson,” Frank continued. “Sometimes I still see hear shivering at the supermarket when she passes the liquids. This is gonna be epic, Mikey- fucking fantastic. Plus, everyone’s doing it but you…” 

“I don’t know…” Mikey said hesitantly. “If I get expelled, that could seriously screw up some stuff.” 

Frank grinned, making eye contact with Gerard and nodding slightly. They were making headway. “But we’re not going to get expelled. Or even suspended.” 

Gerard nodded eagerly. “Yep, you will have a model record. Plus, the president of the student disciplinary committee- you know him, Frank, Andrew Gonzalez- is completely willing to let some infractions slide if I spend a little extra time with him, you know what I mean, which I am completely willing to do.” He wiggled his eyebrows at them both. Frank forced a smile, feeling strangely irked. Andrew was such an idiot. They’d done marching band together sophomore year, and- well, he didn’t need to think about that.

Mikey grimaced. “Ew, okay, yeah, I didn’t need to hear that. But I get the point. I’ll… think about it.” He stood up, stretched, and headed into the kitchen. 

“We both know that’s totally a yes,” Gerard whispered loudly to Frank. “Just wait until he finds out about number seven.” Frank snorted. 

“Oi! I can hear you! What’s number seven?” Mikey called from the kitchen. 

“Uh…” Gee scrambled for words. “Well… you know how you are particularly fond of one… animal, let’s say? One terrible, nasty, sparkly animal?” Mikey appeared in the doorway, holding a sandwich. Gerard gestured at his brother’s shirt. Mikey looked down at the print, flabbergasted. Frank smothered laughter, choking on a chip. “Well. Uh.” 

“Unicorn detox,” Frank blurted out, laughing. “He’s going to completely deprive you of unicorns.” 

Mikey turned to stare at Gerard, his eyes boring into his older brother, and slowly lifted his hand bearing the sandwich. Gee bolted out of the chair, sprinting toward the bathroom. Frank watched in amused horror as Mikey chucked the sandwich of rage at the back of Gerard’s head, hitting him square in the neck. Gerard slowly turned around, his eyes filled with betrayal, hesitantly raising a hand to touch his formerly glorious hair, now caked with peanut butter. 

“How… how could you?” Gerard asked, his voice shaking. God, this was hilarious. “I trusted you.” 

Mikey glared at him. “For the unicorns.” And with that, he retreated into the deep, dark corners of the Way household. 

“Mikey!” Frank shouted. “You better do this list- or else I’ll fucking tear up that t-shirt in front of you!” 

“Fine!” Mikey faintly shouted. “Just leave me and my unicorn t-shirt alone.” A door slammed in the back of the house. Frank heard a strange whimper, and turned to see Gerard staggering toward him. 

“My hair, Frankie,” Gerard said helplessly. He reached out toward Frank with his peanut butter-coated hands. Frank leapt out of the chair, laughing, and narrowly evaded the danger. 

“Take a shower, dipshit.” Frank dodged a final attack and practically jumped out of the front door. He heard monster noises through the wood- maybe Gerard’s inner demon was finally crawling out. He grinned and headed back toward his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry about any french mistakes, im not fluent


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry!! the chapters a bit short

“Okay, class, please take out your syllabuses,” Ms. Diaz announced. She’d been Frank’s biology teacher for junior year, too (God, she’d have Mikey right now- poor soul), so she’d known well enough that Frank and Gerard were a recipe for disaster. She’d rolled her eyes when he went to sit next to Gee, pointing him in the direction of a seat in the back- next to Jamia Nestor. Now, he leaned over Jamia’s shoulder, reading her syllabus. Gerard turned around to open his backpack and winked at him, wiggling his eyebrows before turning back. Frank pushed down a wave of embarrassment as he felt his face go red. 

“You’re friends with that kid, right?” Jamia whispered, glancing at Gee. “He’s kinda cute. Think he’d go out with me?” 

Frank looked at her, bewildered. “Gerard? Uh…” He didn’t know if you could describe Gerard as cute. Sure, his personality was great- Frank was friends with him for a reason. And he was insanely smart and creative. He’d for sure be getting into one of the top art schools in the country, and he’d had an internship at Cartoon Network for the past year. Cute, though? Frank thought about it for a second, turning the idea over in his head. He stared at Gerard. Sure, yeah, he had pretty good hair. And a pretty adorable nose, come to think of it. And he was pretty fit, too. And a- 

Gee glanced back for a second, catching his gaze and shooting him a quick smile. Frank’s face suddenly turned hot. 

And a fucking adorable smile. 

“Okay, so…” Jamia said slowly. “I’m gonna take the long pause as indication that he would not go out with me.” 

“What? Oh, no, no, no.” Frank said hurriedly. “No, really, he’d go out with anyone. He’s, uh-” Jamia looked at him, amused. “Wait, I don’t mean like- agh. Not that you’re just anyone, obviously. But, uh.” He struggled for words. 

“Don’t worry about it, Frank. I see what you mean.” She winked, turning back to the syllabus.   
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Frank asked, confused. What the fuck kind of wink was that? What kind of sick human being dignifies a sentence with only a wink? 

“Nothing,” she said innocently, reading the syllabus. “Hm. Labs every three weeks. I never did like labs. Nasty goggles, always giving me a headache.” 

He stared at her, flabbergasted, and opened his mouth to speak. But before he could, Gerard appeared in front of the desk, slamming down a textbook. 

“Oi, Frankie. Want to be partners?” 

“Um,” Frank said, confused. “What?” 

Gee nodded at the smartboard. Sure enough, instructions for page 347 of the textbook were in big red letters. Oh. 

“Oh. Wait, who the fuck starts a lesson on page 347?” Frank asked, offended. Because textbooks are in order for a reason, right? Who was Ms. Diaz to go around, screwing it all up? 

Jamia rolled his eyes and started to gather up her books. Oh, shit- Frank didn’t want to date her, but he didn’t want to alienate her either. 

“Wait, uh, Jamia! We can be a group of three, right?” 

“I’m good, Frank,” she said lightly. “I’ll go work with Diana.” She nodded at the girl gesturing at her desperately across the classroom. 

“Oh,” he said, feeling oddly relieved. “Okay.” She shot him a quick grin and walked away. His eyes drifted to her ass before he caught himself and bolted upright, eyes darting to Gee, who was doodling on his textbook already. Gerard glanced up at him and winked. Frank started to softly smile before scratching his head and giving a guilty grin. He leaned back in his chair. Oof. Better not overthink that. Senior year, hormones, etc. 

“Okay, so…” Frank clapped his hands together, picking up his pen and giving it a few experimental clicks. “What’ve we got to do?” He leaned over Gerard shoulder to look at the page. Wait. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. “Gee, this is already done.”

“About that…” Gerard trailed off. “Um.” Frank raised an inquiring eyebrow. “I did the first ten assignments, cause they were, uh, they were posted on the website? I figured we’d be working together and I know you can’t focus well in class…” He laser-focused on his quickly forming skeleton sketch in the textbook. 

“Well, shit, Gerard.” Frank laughed. “Guess I owe you one.” He glanced around the room, surprised to see that no one else seemed to be working. Diaz was hunched at her desk, clicking away at her laptop. Probably online shopping. Frank tiled his head to the side, examining her- she seemed like a flower dress kinda gal. Real into that cottagecore. He whispered as much to Gerard, proud as his friend suppressed a giggle before settling back into Art Mode.

People watching time. The long grey desks were all filled up, he noted. The senior year had a weird amount of transfers this year- something about a school burning down. Public school system was shit, anyway, closings and budget cuts killing any sense of permanence, so the people in their classes weren’t really fixed. There were Brandon and Luke making paper straw worms in front of him. Luke leaned down, cross-eyed, and dropped the first spot of water onto the scrunched-up worm. It slowly unfolded and squirmed across the table- they went batshit crazy. Diaz shot them a glare. Sligtly less batshit crazy now. He started to turn his attention to the band kids, but he noticed some frantic movement out of the corner of his eye.

It was Jamia (God, he had a feeling he’d be saying that a lot this year). Jamia doing the… macarena? She winked at him suggestively as she and Diana did the hip shake in unison. He silently laughed, shoulders shaking, before mouthing “do your work”. She pouted and picked up her pen, Diana sticking out her tongue at him. 

Gerard was stilling hunched over his textbook, already onto shading the skeleton. Frank reached out, readying the dreading Poking Finger, when Gerard looked up, eyes widening. He frantically dodged, arms flailing like a windmill. The chair tipped precariously, Gerard’s face reddening as Frank smothered his laughs. 

Crash.

“Fuck.” Gerard pouted at Frank from underneath the desk, the latter still dying of laughter.   
“You- you-” Frank wheezed. “How can you fall out of a rolling chair?”

Gerard scowled at him, crossing his arms stubbornly while still flopped out. “It’s not that hard, okay?” He suddenly seemed to realize that they weren’t alone in the room, and his face blanched as he looked behind him. Frank regained his composure long enough to see Ms. Diaz’s furious face above them- and the detention slip in her hand.

~   
“Listen, dude, it’s really not that bad…” Ray laid a comforting hand on Frank’s back. The cafeteria was nearly empty, filled with scattered and vacated rolling chairs- school had ended two hours ago. The only other kid was curled up in the corner, glued to his phone. Frank didn’t know this, of course, face being buried in his arms and all that. Mikey swiped at his phone, smiling imperceptibly as Candy Crush validated him.

Frank groaned loudly. Ray frowned in sympathy, rubbing circles on his friend’s back.

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind,” Ray said. 

“Yeah, bro, it’s his first of the year. Start it off great, y’know?” Mikey smirked as Ray furiously swatted at him, dodging easily. Frank raised his head, leaning against his bicep and chewing on his sweater cord. Ray froze, switching into his mother duck setting. He laid a large hand on Frank’s shoulder, patting him gently. 

“Ray, this would be a lot more comforting if you didn’t smell like ketchup,” Frank said.

Ray shrugged. “What can I say? I’m a ketchup kinda guy.” Frank grinned before remembering he was meant to be sad. For God’s sake, he’d landed Gerard his first detention. First day of senior year, huh? He let his head fall onto the desk again, wincing as his forehead banged against the rough surface. He deserved it, being such a terrible, horrible, no good friend.  
“Hey! Frank!” 

Frank raised his head- he was gonna get a neck sixpack if he kept this up- feeling the guilt weigh down on him again as Gerard’s nasally voice called out. Sure enough, there was the little grease weasel, waving awkwardly from outside the glass door as he shoved open his backpack, digging for his I.D. Frank smiled half-heartedly, ready for the “don’t worry about it”’s and “it’s no problem”’s. But wait- who was with Gerard. Frank squinted across the cafeteria, making out a long-haired guy next to Gerard’s oversized sweatshirt-ed self. Gee smiled gratefully as the guy as he swiped his I.D. across the scanner and held the door for him. God, where those… heart eyes? Gerard chattered aimlessly with the guy as they walked over, the dude obviously captivated by Gee’s pure genius. Frank scowled. Gerard was only supposed to look at him like that. He glanced at Ray and Mikey, both engrossed in the latter’s game of Candy Crush. He stifled a giggle as he thought of what they’d do to this guy- every few weeks Gerard brought another infatuated kid home. They always scared easy.

Gerard and the dude slowed down a few feet in front of them, Gerard giving a bright little wave to Frank while still blabbing on about- Procreate? He didn’t even have an iPad… Mikey looked up from the screen for a second, giving his older brother a quick nod before shutting off the phone and slipping it into his pocket. Ray started shuffling his forgotten English papers together, shoving them into his backpack- he’d regret that for the binder check. Frank observed all this with a half-smile, knowing what was coming. 

“Hey, so everyone, this is Bert.” The kid smiled easily, folding his I.D. lanyard around his wrist and bending forward to give them all handshakes. Frank smiled brightly and shook his hand extra hard- assert dominance. He’d learned his lesson last time, with Darren. Never trust long-haired boys around your friends. Gerard gave a jazz hands flutter in Bert’s direction before prattling on about the kid’s life story. Frank narrowed his eyes. Gee reached up to floof his hair while he spoke, nervously twiddling with a few strands before awkwardly shoving his hands into his pockets. A cinematic experience, really. Gerard stuttered out a few more introductions before slowly fading out. Frank smirked. This kid wouldn’t last a week.

“Hi,” the kid said, reaching out a hand towards them all individually. Ugh, manners. Frank begrudgingly shook it, discreetly rolling his eyes (though Ray’s unsubtle accusatory cough begged to differ). He leaned towards the kid (totally not planning on delivering a threat), but his eyes snapped towards Bert’s arm. 

His arm oh-so-casually wrapped around Gerard’s shoulders being oh-so-obviously not pushed away. Frank’s eyes bugged out as Bert leaned in for a kiss- a full ass fucking smooch- on Gerard’s cheek. And (get this) rather than fucking decking the kid on the spot, Gerard blushed and stammered and rubbed at the back of his neck and looked anywhere but at his brother. 

“Ready to go, Gee?” Bert asked, pulling some car keys out of his pocket and twiddling with them. 

“Oh yeah, Mikey,” Gerard said quickly. “I’m gonna catch a ride with Bert, new kid helping and all that, is that cool? Sorry to make you guys wait so long, um. Ray can drive you both though?” Mikey waved a dismissive hand, probably fucking ecstatic about the thought of getting to spend a whole car ride playing Candy Crush without interruption.

And with that, he was gone.

Frank stared helplessly as Bert- stupid, sauntering Bert- walked away, leaning down toward Gerard as he probably lectured about the newest ridiculous video game update, both of them completely wrapped up in their conversation.

God.

This wasn’t good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for reading this chapter!! comments + kudos + suggestions are appreciated :)


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